


Holding Out For a Hero

by banjkazfan



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Chill XV, Crack Treated Seriously, Established Relationship, Fluff and Crack, Husbands, M/M, Mistaken Identity, Rescue Missions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-19
Updated: 2017-09-19
Packaged: 2018-12-31 02:35:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12122661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/banjkazfan/pseuds/banjkazfan
Summary: When a man claiming to be Gladio appears the night of the ball meant to celebrate their marriage, Ignis is left flabbergasted.This man is so clearlynothis husband that he doesn't even know where to begin.  Where is Gladio?  And where have Noctis and Prompto disappeared to?





	Holding Out For a Hero

**Author's Note:**

> I've been kicking around the idea for weeks "What if I took the scene from Shrek 2 where Shrek storms the castle to stop Prince Charming, but I substitute Gladio for Shrek and Ignis for Fiona?"
> 
> No, no, wait, don't go, I promise it's not awful. I don't think it is, anyway.
> 
> Don't take this too seriously. I mean, I kind of did (even though I'm sure I got some of the details not 100% right), but don't feel you have to take it too seriously. Just have fun!

Ignis had known since the first moment that _something_ was very clearly wrong with the man claiming to be his husband.  While he looked like Gladio, something about his demeanor was _off_.  He leaned in a little too aggressively, for one.  While Gladio tended to invade Ignis’ personal space on a regular basis, it was far warmer and more playful.  The way this Gladio leaned in to him, Ignis feared the other man would eat him.

Then there was the way he _spoke._ Ignis would never say that Gladio wasn’t well-read, or that he didn’t speak poetically at times (usually when he was trying to coax Ignis to come undone beneath him), but the tone and diction was all wrong.

“Darling,” ‘Gladio’ murmured against his ear, and Ignis barely suppressed the urge to shudder in the _worst possible way._  Gladio _never_ called him ‘darling’.  “Your eyes are so _evocative_.  They remind me of the most impressionistic stained glass windows in this castle.  Like windows into your soul.”

Okay.  Whoever he was, he at least was _flattering_ , even if Ignis wanted his lips nowhere near him.  He’d continued to try and avoid ‘Gladio’s’ advances, which had been easy enough with his uncle constantly calling him away, but now Ignis wasn’t sure he could avoid him any longer.  With the ball being thrown in honor of he and Gladio’s marriage, it certainly wouldn’t do for him to be avoiding the man.

(Even if it felt like he was a prisoner in the castle he’d grown up in now, what with the servants all trying to force him to stay in his room.)

But at this point, the ball was hours away and Ignis had no idea where his husband actually was.  While he was playing it nonchalantly to avoid rousing suspicion, he was more than a little concerned.

Where was Gladio?

***

“You’re lucky we found you,” Prompto said as they unlocked the shackles around Gladio’s wrists.  “Whoever’s pretending to be you sure made it hard.”

They’d gotten damn lucky that there had been whispers all around the castle about the man who’d been arrested.  “I heard he looks eerily like Lord Gladiolus,” one of the servants whispered to another, “but thankfully the _real_ Lord Gladiolus is here and preparing for the ball.”

Noctis and Prompto had exchanged a horrified look before wondering _what if?_  ‘Gladio’ had been acting weird all day, and they’d just assumed that he was...very atypically expressing his nerves about the ball that evening.  They all knew that while Gladio was technically a lord, he’d never been comfortable with the fancy titles and things like that - hell, it was one reason he and Ignis got along so well.  Ignis had noped the hell out of that life the instant he’d had a chance and had only come back now to try and repair his relationship with his uncle.  The invitation in the mail, coming in about two weeks after their marriage, had left Ignis so torn that Gladio had reassured him that if he wanted to go, Gladio would go with him.

But then there was what they’d overheard when they’d charged off to find a horse to carry them to the dungeons...

“I’ll deal with him soon enough,” Gladio growled, interrupting Prompto’s train of thought as he was lowered to the ground and rolling his eyes at the way Prompto and Noctis both trembled slightly under his weight.  “Right now, I gotta make sure he doesn’t get his hands on Iggy.  He’s tryin’ to steal the kingdom and Iggy’s in trouble!”  Prompto straightened back up and winced as he cracked his back.  Sheesh, Gladio was heavy.

“Honestly?”  Noctis ran a hand through his hair and looked up at the mouth of the well that they were currently trapped in.  “Specs seems to find him pretty charming.  You ought to hear the way he talks to him.  It’s like listening to those sonnets Specs used to try and make me read.”

“Thanks for that, Noct,” Gladio grumbled.  “ _Exactly_ what I wanna fuckin’ hear right now.”  He looked up as well.  “What, you two didn’t bring a ladder?”

Prompto threw his hands up in the air.  “Oh, excuse us for trying to get to you as quick as possible!  We coulda just let you fend for yourself because we’d decided to stop at _Home Depot_ !”

There were so, _so many_ things that Gladio wanted to say to that, but right now he needed to get back to the castle.  He needed to stop this guy from stealing the kingdom, and from stealing Ignis.  Instead, he glared at both Noctis and Prompto.

“Grab on,” he said.  “We’re climbin’ out.”  There were enough handholds that he was sure he could do it.  And he’d certainly hauled both of these brats around enough when they were exhausted, drunk, or knocked out enough that he would have little trouble doing it when they were conscious enough to cooperate with being carried.

“Can you...actually carry us both?”  Prompto sounded a little hesitant, but Noctis wrapped his arms around Gladio, one arm hooking over his shoulder and the other coming under his armpit to cling to him like a koala.  Belatedly Prompto realized that he was holding up production and he reluctantly held onto Gladio as well.

“I don’t know what this guy’s deal is,” Noctis said, trying not to look down as Gladio slowly began to climb the wall.  “But he’s really determined to make sure he wins.  When we stole the chocobos, we overheard him talking to someone.  He said something about ‘make sure he drinks it before the ball’.”  Noctis’ voice dropped into a poor imitation of Gladio’s and Prompto buried his face in Gladio’s neck to stave off both his giggles and his sudden burst of nausea at looking down at the ground below.

“...the potion,” Gladio said slowly.  He’d overheard someone making a potion as he’d strolled through the castle two days ago, but that was what had gotten him grabbed up and dragged away to prison before he could see who was doing it.  But the combination of ingredients - “a pinch of passion, a drop of desire (oohoohoo, naughty)...and just a _hint_ of lust” had certainly sounded all kinds of bad.  “That guy was making a goddamn love potion!”

“A love potion?”  Prompto managed to look back up.  “So he’s not just gonna pretend to be you...he’s gonna make Iggy fall in love with ‘you’ all over again.  Except...not?”

“This pronoun game is confusing,” Noctis grumbled as he adjusted his grip.  “ _Somebody_ is trying to steal the kingdom, and _somebody_ figured out that bumping you out of the picture was the fastest way to do it.”

“Iggy ain’t even in the line of succession!”  Gladio’s voice was terse as he pulled them further up.  “He’s a duke, not a prince!”

“Well, clearly it’s not well thought out!” Prompto piped up.  “I mean, the only way Iggy would ever even get close to the throne was if his uncle - ”

Prompto’s sentence trailed off and Gladio very nearly faltered in his ascent.  Ignis had made no secret that his uncle had no direct heirs of his own, and Ignis’ father had been removed from the picture when he had died nearly two decades before.  In fact, that had come up at dinner the other night in an incredibly painful way when Ignis’ uncle had reminded him softly that technically, should anything happen to him, the kingdom would fall to Ignis if there wasn’t a suitable heir lined up.

“Fuck,” Gladio breathed, going completely still.  “Not just Iggy, but his uncle…”

“They’re both in trouble.”  Noctis was the one to speak aloud what nobody else wanted to.

There was no question about it.  They _had_ to get back to the castle.

***

The hour of the ball was at hand, and Ignis was positively sure that his skin was going to be crawling by the end of the evening.

This _man_ (he certainly wasn’t Gladio and Ignis had no idea what to call him) had kept a tight arm around him all evening, and was currently waving to the attendants in a laughably grandiose way.

“What are you _doing_?” Ignis hissed between his teeth, debating if he could get out of his grip and step on his toes before the other man had had a chance to react.  He could probably be out to the Regalia if he went quickly enough.

“Ignis, dearest,” the other man replied, and Ignis felt his nose crinkle at the term of endearment.  “I’m simply playing the part.  Fitting in with your world.  You understand, don’t you?”

The truly frightening part was that Ignis could almost believe Gladio would say something along those lines, albeit with less flowery language.  He knew that Gladio had been particularly nervous to meet his only remaining family (“were you, uh, ever gonna tell me that you’re a step removed from royalty?”) and that he’d really only come along to support Ignis in trying to repair the bridge he’d burnt when he’d refused to marry the duchess his uncle had guided him towards.  At 17, and knowing that women were _incredibly_ low on his list of interests, he’d simply...left.  And yet here was Gladio, coming along to a world that made him immensely uncomfortable because he knew that this was what _Ignis_ wanted.

That, more than anything, made him pause and look to the other man.  Was it really possible that Gladio was simply nervous and acting uncharacteristically to hide it?

And yet…  

“...is that _glitter_ on your lips?”  Bewildered, Ignis leaned a little closer to examine for himself.  A foolish move, perhaps, considering how frequently the other man had tried to kiss him in the past few days (not to speak of the last few _hours_ ), but he was morbidly curious.

‘Gladio’ licked his lips before leaning closer.  “Cherry flavored,” he practically purred.  “Would you care for a taste?”

Right, then.   _Definitely_ not Gladio.  The only thing that kept Ignis from extricating himself from the grip with a twist and a knee to this man’s back was the sudden appearance of a spotlight overhead, shining directly down on them.

It seemed now that there was no way out.  Ignis searched the room before he met his uncle’s eyes across the way.  The older man looked bewildered at the sight of Ignis trying to pull away from the man he’d so fervently argued in favor of just nights before, and Ignis bit the inside of his cheek to keep his expression neutral.

Not to mention he couldn’t find Noctis and Prompto anywhere.  They had both disappeared hours before, but the servants had simply turned away when he’d asked for more information.

It felt as if Ignis’ entire family was dissolving before his eyes, and there was absolutely no way to stop it.

***

Gladio was exhausted by the time they emerged from the well, and he was incredibly grateful to see two chocobos tied to the edge of the well.   _Thank gods._  He wasn’t going to have to hoof it back to the castle.

The only problem now was riding arrangements.

“Well, you definitely can’t ride on mine,” Prompto said, crossing his arms protectively over his chest.  “It’s not like she can carry you _and_ me, Gladio!  You’re like...the size of a behemoth!”

“ _Why in hell’s fuck didn’t you bring three?_ ”  Gladio was at the end of his rope, about ready to go for Prompto’s throat from the stress, but he tried to rein it in.  The faster they got this settled, the faster he could get to Ignis.

Thank the gods for Noct.  As much shit as Gladio liked to give him, the younger man could often tell when it was necessary to intervene.  “Prom, _we’ve got to move._  I’ll get on yours, and Gladio can take mine.”

With their arrangements situated, they were able to begin the journey.  Gladio kept his head low, racing as fast as he could back to the castle.  Who knew what was happening while they wasted time out here?

***

Music began to play, the tune familiar and soft.  Ignis looked around rather helplessly, hearing the entire crowd beginning to chant for them to dance.  ‘Gladio’ held out his hand with a smile.

“Ignis, my love,” he murmured.  “Will you honor me with this dance?”

Ignis bit his lip.  There was nothing that he wanted to do less than to dance with whoever this imposter was, but he had little choice with how he was hemmed in.  It wouldn’t do to cause a scene and disrupt the proceedings, either, as tempting as it was to flag down a nearby server, take some wine, and splash it in the other man’s face.

Hesitantly Ignis extended his hand as well, starting when cold fingers closed around his.  Gladio always ran hot as a furnace, and this contrast was...unsettling.

‘Gladio’ led him out to the floor and began to dance to the music, holding Ignis against his body as they moved together with skill and rhythm.  The spotlight above them became almost overwhelming as Ignis tried to keep up.  “Since when do you know how to dance?” Ignis murmured, knowing full well that as soon as music came into the picture Gladio became horribly uncoordinated and became a bit of a shuffler.  It was an endearing quirk that Ignis would never have expected, given how graceful he was in battle.

“My dear,” Gladio chuckled against his ear.  “If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that love is _full_ of surprises.”

The music came to a pulsing swell as Ignis tried to take a moment to ponder that, but the sudden speed to Gladio’s movements forced it out of his mind and Ignis struggled to keep up.

***

On the chocobos, they were able to cross the distance in a matter of minutes.  The little bastards really did seem able to book it, and Gladio was thankful for it in that moment.  He had to get to Ignis before it was too late.

The citizens dove out of their way as they charged through the town, and Gladio shouted in triumph when he saw the castle gates.  “We’re almost there!” he roared.  He just had to get in there and to the grand hall before -

Gladio shouted in surprise as an arrow whizzed by his chocobo and the bird startled.  With a violent jerk, it twisted and threw him off, and Gladio grunted painfully as he rolled across the ground.  Dammit!  He tried to push himself back up to jump back up on the chocobo, but the creature was already beating a terrified retreat.

Huh.  It was almost like chocobos weren’t meant to be ridden into war.

He looked around wildly to see where the attack had come from, and he saw a row of MTs with crossbows lining the top of the castle walls.  He bared his teeth.  Shit.  As it was now, he would be filled with arrows before he could get inside.  And the clatter of metal behind him warned him that there was another cluster coming up fast from the rear.

Dammit!  He called for his greatsword from the Armiger and prepared to fight his way through.  Nothing would stop him from getting to Ignis.

“ _Gladio!_ ”  Prompto’s voice cut through.  “Hurry!   _Jump on!_ ”

Though still keeping his sword at the ready, Gladio turned and poured his energy into running.  He caught up and threw himself onto the chocobo, wincing as it heard it let out an uncomfortable “WARK”.

 _Sorry, buddy, just a bit longer._  He patted its head in reassurance as they plowed through the main gates.

“They’re raising the drawbridge!” Noctis shouted, pointing forward.  And indeed they were; the heavy door was closing before their eyes.

“Come on, girl!” Prompto encouraged, leaning forward and wrapping his arms around the chocobo’s neck.  “Just a bit more!  We’ve gotta get big guy inside!”

The bird, seeming to understand, trotted even faster and leaped across the small gap.  It let out a triumphant “KWEH” as they all sailed through the air before landing on the bridge and skidding down at an angle.  Their quick descent sent them barreling through the horde of MTs waiting at the bottom, and they toppled like bowling pins.

“ _Go!_ ” Gladio roared at the chocobo, dropping his head down.

_Soon, Iggy.  I’ll be there soon!_

For a while, they managed to keep ahead of the MTs, but the men could hear them gaining ground.  There was just too much weight on the chocobo for it to continue at this pace, and they all knew it.

Just as Gladio was considering going forward alone on foot, Prompto jumped down from the chocobo and dramatically threw his hand backwards to both steady himself and to ward Gladio and Noctis away.

“Prom!” Noctis shouted, turning back to watch with wide eyes and coaxing the chocobo to come to a stop.  “What are you doing?!”

Prompto smirked to himself.  “Go!  Go!  Your man needs you; _go!_ ”  It felt appropriately dramatic, what with the approaching horde of MTs and his friends riding the horse further into the castle halls.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Gladio shot back over his shoulder.  “Get your ass over here!”

With a blinding grin, Prompto glanced back at them.  “I’ve got this.  Go save your man!”

Gladio hesitated for only a moment before nodding and digging his heels into the bird’s sides.  “I’m counting on you!” he shouted as they began to gallop away.  He could tell Noctis was dying to stay back and help, and he fisted a hand in the back of his shirt.  “Need you here,” he grunted out.  “I’m not gonna get in the doors without your help!”  Noctis resisted for only a moment but settled back in.

Prompto watched them escape; comforted, he turned back towards the incoming throng of clattering MTs and smiled peacefully.  “Today...I repay my debt.”

He stood in the middle of the floor, hands folded behind his back, head cocked at an angle, eyes wide, and bottom lip quivering.  The MTs charged him, but came screeching to a halt when they calculated that Prompto was just _standing_ there, staring at them.

The display of Prompto looking adorable made them falter, and they all glanced at each other.  Though the MTs did not speak, there was clearly a moment where they were trying to decide _what do we do?_  They looked back at Prompto, uncertain whether or not they could truly annihilate such cuteness.

With a feral growl, Prompto took advantage of that brief pause they left him.  His guns materialized with a flash of magic and he went full-blown Trigger Happy and opened fire on the MTs.

There were so many MTs surrounding him, but he had to press on.  He couldn’t let the guys down, not when they were relying on him to hold the line and stop the MTs from getting to Gladio.  He grinned fiercely and doubled down on his assault.

***

Ignis had had quite _enough_ of trying to keep this man’s lips off of his own.

Somehow he’d magicked up a _rose_ from nowhere and was clutching it between his teeth.  He looked absolutely _ridiculous_ trying to force Ignis into a tango with the red flower in his mouth, and Ignis was trying not to laugh.  He’d also somehow _flipped_ it _with his tongue_ and it was so hilariously grandiose.

But then ‘Gladio’ spit out the flower, dipped him, and leaned in dangerously, and Ignis suddenly felt far less like laughing.  Thinking quickly, he reached down and grabbed the rose before biting down on it.  His eyes held a fire in them, telling the other man that he would not be taken so easily.

It seemed to satiate the other man for the time being, and Ignis was pulled out of the dip.  The music hit its beautiful fortissimo as ‘Gladio’ spun him a few times and dipped him once more, his lips coming so close that they were practically brushing.  The vocalist held her final note and Ignis felt his heart slamming in a frightened anticipation.  What would he do now?  Was Ignis trapped?  There was no more rose, and no other way to hide -

The sound of the doors banging open and a loud call of “STOP!” drew the attention of the entire room, and Ignis felt his heart skip when he saw Gladio at the entrance to the grand hall, majestically riding a chocobo with Noctis on the bird behind him.

“Hey.  You.”  Gladio’s voice was loud but never frenetic, and he frowned at the man holding Ignis.  “ _Back away from my husband._ ”

A thrill ran through Ignis at the words, and he immediately _knew_ that the man on the chocobo was, in fact, _his_ Gladio.  He straightened up, pulling away from the imposter.  “Gladio?” he called, bewilderment in his voice.  Where in the hell had he been?  Why was he riding on a _chocobo_?

A low, dangerous growl filled the room, and from the shadows emerged a wickedly sinister creature with horns emerging from his head.  Ignis’ blood chilled as he recognized the Infernian, and he suddenly realized just how much danger he was in - how much danger _everyone_ in the room was in.

“He’s taken the potion,” the Infernian growled.  “ _Kiss him now!_ ”

It took Ignis a very long moment to realize that they were talking about _him._ The wind was knocked from Ignis’ lungs as a fierce hand curled around the back of his neck, tugging him in, and cold lips pressed firmly to his.

Gladio shouted in desperation, reaching out and scrambling down the stairs.  “ _Iggy!_ ” he cried out, sinking to his knees.  All of that...had he been too late?

Ignis’ eyes slowly slid open as the other pulled away.  His eyes were contemplative as he looked up, his hands trailing up and over the other man’s cheeks.  A soft smile crossed Ignis’ expression as he cupped his cheeks gently.

Gladio’s chest ached as he watched Ignis rise, still staring almost adoringly at the other.   _No._ He’d _lost_ Ignis, and he'd never feel whole again.

But a primal shout from Ignis about made Gladio shit bricks and he watched in complete awe as his husband violently headbutted the man holding him.  The imposter crumpled to the floor and shimmered with magic before reverting to the form of the chancellor of Niflheim.

But how the hell could Gladio care about that right now?  He crossed the six steps to his husband and took his hands in his own.  “Ignis,” he murmured.  “Did you know it wasn’t me all along?”

“I suspected,” Ignis murmured as he glowered down at the man on the floor. “Your diction was off.  And you - ”  He addressed the man below them now  “ - if you're planning to drug someone, it would behoove you to stay and ensure they _take_ the offered drink.”

Ardyn managed to lift his throbbing head and look at Ignis. “You don't drink green tea,” he finally realized aloud.

“I don't. Does a terrible number on my stomach.  But my _husband_ would have known that, of course.”  The smirk on Ignis’ face made Gladio want to kiss him passionately in front of everyone, but the low, curling growl froze him in place.

“You couldn’t have left well enough alone,” the Infernian snarled.  “You have no place in this story.”  The glow of fire surrounded his hand and he pointed at Gladio.  “Behemoths _don’t_ live happily ever after!”

Gladio moved to tuck Ignis behind him, protecting him from the ire of the Infernian, but Ignis refused to be moved and stood strong beside his husband.  His hand rested on Gladio’s chest and his eyes were furiously fixed on their assailant.

A shout filled the room, followed by frantic footsteps, and Ignis watched in horror as his uncle threw himself in front of the two men, arms spread wide.  He’d made so many mistakes over the years, letting Ignis get away and letting so many years go by without contact, and he was not planning to let his beloved nephew die before his very eyes.

But Ignis could not let this pass in turn.  He had made mistakes of his own, and he wouldn’t let anyone die for his.  “ _Uncle!_ ” Ignis shouted, surging forward. Gladio desperately tried to hold him back, but the flames grew and all he could do was grab onto Ignis and brace for the hit -

A flash of blue practically blinded him, and suddenly Gladio saw Noctis in front of him. He'd warped over, getting between Ignis’ uncle and Ifrit, and stabbed his engine blade right into the Infernian’s chest.  The magic imbuing Noctis’ sword, blessed by the Glacian long ago, was a perfect counterpoint to the flaming magic of the Infernian and a roar filled the hall as he dissolved into a flurry of bubbles.

Noctis exhaled and slowly lowered the blade.  “...kinda anticlimactic,” he admitted, turning back to face Gladio.

“Well.  Your sword is literally blessed by the Astral that’s supposed to kill him,” Gladio pointed out in turn.

“Noctis.  You saved our lives.”  Ignis gripped his shoulder and smiled thankfully.  “I am in your debt.”

“Speaking of!  I finally paid mine off!”  Prompto’s cheerful voice interrupted as he dashed into the room with a smile.  He held his still-buzzing chainsaw and wore a gleeful grin as he let it disappear back into the Armiger.  “Finally was useful to you guys.”  He crossed the room to Noctis and smiled, thankful that his boyfriend was alright after fighting the Astral.  

“Idiot.”  Noctis banished his blade and wrapped his arms around Prompto tightly and pulled him in close.  “You’ve _always_ been useful.  I _love_ _you_.”  He nestled close, tucking Prompto’s face into his neck.

Ignis watched them for a moment, smiling to himself, when he felt a strong arm around his waist.  “Iggy,” Gladio murmured against his temple.  “‘M so glad to see you.”

“As am I.”  Ignis turned and pressed into Gladio’s embrace, wrapping his arms tightly around his husband.  It belatedly occurred to him that had all gone to the chancellor’s plan, he would now be under the spell of a man he did not love, and he would have lost Gladio forever.  The thought made him clutch Gladio a little tighter.

There was a low groan as Ardyn stood, facing the two men with a wild expression.  “ _You,_ ” he hissed at Gladio.  “You will _rue the day_ you stole my kingdom from me - ”

He was cut off by the presence of a sword in his face, with Ignis’ incredibly displeased uncle at the other end.  “We will be renegotiating our position as Niflheim’s allies,” he said darkly.  “It would be best for you if you took your leave _this instant._ ”

Ardyn’s lips pulled in a sneer.  “Scientia,” he said, addressing the elder.  “You will be sorry one day.”  With a flourish of his hand, he disappeared in a magical flash.

They watched the smoke curl in the room for a long moment before the elder Scientia turned to his nephew.  “Ignis,” he said softly.  “Forgive me.  I have not been...as welcoming as I could have been to you and your husband.  This may never have happened if you felt that you could come to me.  If I had not been avoiding you.”

Ignis shook his head in turn.  “No, Uncle, it is I who must ask your forgiveness,” he said.  “Had I not acted so rashly in leaving home all those years ago, I may not have burned our bridge.”

The older man’s lips curled in a smile.  “Perhaps it has all worked out for the best,” he said, looking at the way that Gladio held Ignis’ hand tightly in his own.  “The two of you seem far stronger than when you arrived here, and for that...I am thankful.”  He turned to Gladio and addressed him next.  “Please, Lord Gladiolus.  Take care of my nephew.  Cherish him the way that he deserves.”  He ignored the way that Ignis’ ears burnt red and instead lowered his head in a bow to the other man.

“Of course, Sir.”  Gladio returned the bow, a bit more deeply, but he could barely hide his smile.  He’d gained the acceptance that he’d hoped for all along, and Ignis was beginning to rebuild his relationship with his uncle as _he’d_ wanted.

There was a long, warm moment of silence, before Prompto piped up in excitement.  “Hey!  Isn’t this supposed to be a party?” he said.  “C’mon, you two need your first dance as husbands!”  He sprinted off towards the band to try and get them started once more, and Ignis chuckled as the music began to fill the room.  He turned to Gladio and smiled, extending his hand.

“Will you grace me with a dance?” he said, softly, for his ears only.

Gladio chuckled and blushed.  “You know I don’t dance,” he said just as quietly.  “But for you?  Anything.”

Ignis took Gladio’s hand and situated himself to take the lead.  “I’m glad that I held out for my hero,” he murmured, a smile on his face as he began to lead them through the dance.

**Author's Note:**

> *takes teeny tiny potshot at FFXV: A New Empire mobile game*
> 
> Thank you so much for reading! If you enjoyed, please consider leaving kudos or comments! They really mean a lot to me and I do my very best to reply to every comment I get, and I squee over every kudos I get <3
> 
> Dedicated to everyone in Chill XV. I love you guys <3 You're all the heroes I was holding out for.


End file.
